


Couldn't Be Better

by GhostGrantaire



Series: Pre-Season Stancy [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 11:51:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10853415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostGrantaire/pseuds/GhostGrantaire
Summary: “Sometimes you just need a distraction. I don’t mean to be brag, but I’ve been told I’m excellent at distracting people.”





	Couldn't Be Better

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of Stancy Week, for the prompt "Red/Love"

Nancy groaned for what must have been the hundredth time that afternoon, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach to ease the pain.

“Nancy, maybe you should go to the nurse,” Barbara pointed out, a sympathetic look on her face. “Mr. Katz won’t care. You have a 99.9 in that class anyway, plus you won’t be able to focus if you’re feeling this terrible.”

Nancy shook her head firmly, but whined again when the motion only caused a wave of pain to wash through her head. She rested her head in her hands, taking a breath. “I hate being a girl.”

Barb chuckled, rubbing Nancy’s back comfortingly just as the bell rang, signalling the beginning of the passing period. “It’s the worst. Look, just go to the nurse. I’ll get you your homework and notes.”

“Thanks, Barb,” Nancy said genuinely, feeling immensely grateful for her best friend at that moment. Nancy gathered her stuff from her desk and pushed herself to her feet. “Can you still give me a ride home after school?”

“Of course. I’ll meet you in the parking lot at 4, okay?” Barb asked, and Nancy nodded, pulling her books to her stomach.

“I’ll see you then,” Nancy promised before parting to head towards the office.

She’d only ever gone to the nurse’s office a couple of times over her years at Hawkins High School. Most kids tended to use the nurse’s office as an opportunity to skip class, and she hated feeling like she was slacking off. But Barb was right– there was no way she would be able to pay attention in class feeling like this.

She knocked on politely on the door before pushing it open when she heard an affirmative response. Nurse Frances smiled at her from her desk, closing the folder in front of her.

“How can I help you today, dear?” She asked, and Nancy found herself thanking her lucky stars she’d gotten the nicer nurse.

“I’m just having a bad, um, time of the month?” she offered awkwardly. Luckily the nurse just nodded sympathetically and led her to the small back room, which only had a small bed and a couch, along with some cabinets. Nurse Frances gestured towards the bed to the side of the room, and Nancy dutifully hopped up onto it.

“Is it mainly cramps or headache?” She asked as Nancy got situated.

“Both, I guess, but the cramps are worse,” she admitted. She hated feeling so weak and fragile like this, but she was at the point that she’d stopped caring.

The nurse rummaged through her drawers before pulling out a small electric heating pad and handing it to Nancy. She took it gratefully, turning it on and laying it delicately on her abdomen as the nurse fetched something else out of her cabinet.

“Do you usually take anything for headaches?” She asked, glancing at Nancy.

“Maybe some Ibuprofen, but that’s all,” Nancy replied with a shrug. She nodded and turned back to the cabinet.

“Here.” Nurse Frances held out a hand with two pills. Nancy took them gratefully and “I’m not technically supposed to give you medicine, but no harm no foul. I would hate to be in your shoes right now.”

Nancy smiled and knocked the pills back when the nurse handed her a glass of water, praying that they would kick in soon. She reached for her backpack and pulled out the book she was reading, ready to get some chapters down. She wanted to just curl into a fetal position for the next hour, but she also wanted to keep her dignity. She settled for kicking off her shoes and tucking her legs underneath her and leaning back enough so the heating pad wouldn’t slip off of her abdomen.

The nurse left her alone after a few minutes, and Nancy heaved a sigh of relief as she allowed herself to relax. The warmth from the heating pad lessened the cramps, letting her lie back more comfortable and read peacefully.

After about fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the nurse’s door, and Nancy paused to listen to the conversation from the front room. Someone said something that Nancy couldn’t quite understand, but she heard the next sentence all too clearly.

“And what brings you to my office this afternoon, Mr. Harrington?” Nurse Frances replied, sounding unsurprised.

Nancy stared at the door in horror, unable to believe this. Here she was, messily sprawled out over a crappy little bed, feeling like utter shit, and Steve Harrington was standing right outside.

“I have a migraine,” Steve answered, and Nancy heard him more clearly this time. “I’ve got a note and everything. Ms. Katz said I should sleep it off.”

“Uh-uh, well I’m afraid I have another student in there already.” She sounded unimpressed.

“Oh come on, Franny, I just want to sleep. I’ll take the couch! I won’t disturb anyone,” Steve pleaded, and Nancy rolled her eyes. There was no way the nurse was going to fall for this–

“Alright, fine. But if you start annoying Ms. Wheeler, I’m sending you back to class, headache or no.”

The door to the back room opened before Nancy could understand what was happening. Nurse Frances stuck her head in, smiling apologetically, and Steve grinned at her over the short woman’s head. Nancy could only blink in shock, suddenly aware of the way she was sprawled across the bed with a heating pad wrapped around her stomach.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Wheeler, but I’m afraid you’re going to have a bit of company for a while, if that’s alright,” the nurse explained.

Nancy shook her head, still slightly shocked. “No, that’s… that’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“Alright, you take the couch,” Frances said sternly to Steve, who nodded, looking more glum now to keep up the act. She then turned to Nancy. “I have to do file some paperwork in the main office, so come find me if you need anything. And don’t let him do anything stupid.”

Nancy nodded as Steve walked and flopped down on the couch. Nurse Frances gave one last despairing look before closing the door behind her.

They listened to the sound of her heels click down the hallway until the faded from range.

Nancy couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know what the hell Steve was doing here. She supposed they were friends at this point, or something close to it, but that still felt strangely wrong. The only interactions they ever had were in history, and 95% of those were just stupid conversations on scraps of paper. Barb would classify it as flirting. Maybe she had a point.

“Hey Nance,” Steve spoke up from the couch, grinning at her.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded quietly.

Steve just blinked at her.. “I have a headache!” he insisted. He sounded innocent enough, but Nancy knew better.

“Sure you do,” she answered back, feeling foolish.

“Well what are you doing here?” he shot back, laying on his back with a smirk. “Barb said you were sick, but you don’t look sick to me.”

Nancy flushed, feeling embarrassed and on the spot. She looked down at the book in her lap uncomfortably. “Um, I just… I have cramps,” she explained pathetically, wishing she was a better liar.

Steve let out a low whistle, making Nancy look at him again. He was frowning sympathetically at her, and he didn’t look grossed out, which confused her. 

“That sucks,” he said genuinely. “Carol gets the worst cramps every month and she complains about them non-stop. It’s annoying, but they do sound shitty.”

Nancy gave a small hesitant smile. “Yeah.” She pulled her knees up to her chest, the position easing the pain a bit, and opened her book back.

They sat in silence for about fifteen minutes before Steve finally broke, just like Nancy assumed he would. He sat up and looked at her, but Nancy only glanced at him.

“Hey Nance,” he mused slowly. She looked back down at her book. “Nance.”

She didn’t reply, keeping her lips pressed tightly together to keep herself from smiling. Steve was watching her, but Nancy kept herself from returning the glance, keeping her eyes on her book.

After about five minutes of him just staring at her, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Do you want something?” she finally asked, breaking her facade.

Steve looked smug at her response. “You know me. I’m always up for some conversation.”

“Don’t you have a migraine?” she challenged, looking up at him. Despite her words, she was smiling, and he grinned.

“I took some Ibuprofen. It works fast,” he replied easily, grinning cheekily at her. “Besides, pain’s all in your head.”

Nancy blinked at him, trying to figure out if he meant that to be a pun or not. He spoke up again before she could question him.

“Sometimes you just need a distraction. I don’t mean to be brag, but I’ve been told I’m excellent at distracting people.”

He shot her a suggestive look. Nancy hoped she wasn’t blushing as much as she felt like she was.

She hummed in response, returning to her book. She didn’t know why she bothered. She’d done nothing but reread the same line about thirty times now.

“Nancy,” he said in a teasing sing-song voice. She deliberately turned another page. “Nancy, Nancy, Nancy.”

She still didn’t look up.

“So what, you’re only gonna talk to me through notes?” Steve asked with a laugh, propping himself up on an elbow.

Nancy blushed, but shrugged all the same.

“Alright then,” Steve said decidedly. Before Nancy knew what he was up to, he’d crossed over to stand in front of her cot and snatched the book out of her hand, ignoring her protests. He pulled a pencil out of his back pocket and scribbled something in the margins while Nancy watched in frustration. After a few seconds, he handed it back, smirk on his face.

Nancy shot him an unamused look before twisting the book to read the messy handwriting.

**_You’re cute when you’re angry._ **

Nancy blushed immediately. She knew she should be annoyed by the words, but she could still see Steve grinning at her, and there was something undeniably genuine about it. She’d never understood why so many girls fell for Steve Harrington when, judging by his history, their relationships wouldn’t last more than a month, but now she couldn’t blame them at all.

Her legs were dangling off the side of the bed, and she kicked him playfully in the shin, but he didn’t even flinch. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close they were. She could feel his breath on her cheeks, and he kept looking at her, something intense in his eyes. She glanced down at his lips before she could stop herself and out of her peripheral vision saw him do the same.

She wished she could say that Steve initiated it. Later, when she’d relay the story to Barb in private, she’d change the facts, assuring her friend that he’d kissed her first. But, in reality, Nancy had been the one to break first.

She leaned forward quickly before she could stop herself, pressing her lips clumsily to his. Steve didn’t waste any time in deepening the kiss, not seeming caught off guard at all. He knew what he was doing, Nancy could tell, but she didn’t have time to be self-conscious about her own skills because he was already opening his mouth against hers and settling his hands at her waist. Her brain was currently running on a loop of holy shit, holy shit, I’m kissing Steve Harrington in the nurse’s office, holy shit.

She didn’t know what to do with herself– the last and only person she’d kissed was Barb, and that was during a game of Truth or Dare– so she sat still, holding her book awkwardly in her lap. She didn’t know what the protocol was for any of this, but if she was doing something wrong, Steve didn’t seem to mind.

They broke apart and looked at each other. Nancy couldn’t stop staring at his lips, which were now bright red, unable to comprehend that she was responsible for that. He was grinning at her, looking more than a bit smug.

“What?” she asked defensively, suddenly self-conscious. She knew she was blushing terribly, but she couldn’t stop.

“Your cheeks are red,” he commented with a chuckle, trailing a finger down the side of her face teasingly. “Sure you’re not sick?”

“Shut up,” she protested with a laugh, shoving him slightly.

“Make me,” he taunted predictably, raising his eyebrows suggestively, and before she knew it they were kissing again.

This time, she felt more confident. She pushed her book off of her lap and held on gently to his collar. Her other hand found Steve’s, and they threaded their fingers together tightly. She felt dizzy and breathless and for a brief second she wondered if maybe she really was getting sick, but she had a feeling that this was just the Steve Harrington Effect that she’d heard girls gossip about in the bathrooms on several occasions. Suddenly she didn’t think those conversations were so silly.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that, swapping kisses like they had all the time in the world. Every kiss was different, a new sensation that Nancy had never gotten to experience before. She felt like she was studying, trying to pick out every observation she could, every piece of sound or taste or smell or touch that helped create the perfect description of what it felt like to kiss and be kissed by Steve Harrington.

A noise outside the door startled Nancy, and she pulled back quickly to stare in horror at the door. Steve glanced over as well, but made no move to pull away from her. Luckily, the sound of footsteps continued past them down the hallway, and Nancy sighed in relief.

She could feel Steve’s hot breath against her cheek, and she was surprised by how much she wanted to kiss him again, but the clock on the wall caught her eye.

“Steve,” she protested slightly as he pressed a kiss to her jaw. “It’s almost the end of the day. The nurse will be back any minute.”

“So?” he asked, smiling against her skin, clearly lacking any intentions of stopping.

“So,” she started, pulling back to look at him straight on. “You’re supposed to have a migraine, aren’t you?”

Steve pulled back, a small smile playing on his lips like she had just said something adorable, even though she’d just been trying to be practical. She blinked at the look, a blush coming over her cheeks unwarranted. They stayed like that for a moment before Steve took a step back, not taking his eyes off of her.

She was suddenly all too aware of how red his lips were, and she realized in slight horror that hers probably weren’t much better. She brought her hands up to her hair, brushing it out of her face, before readjusting her clothes so that nothing looked askew. Steve chuckled when he noticed what she was doing, readjusting his own collar slightly as he flopped back on the couch.

They didn’t speak for a few minutes, just smirking (Steve) and blushing (Nancy) at each other until the nurse knocked on the door.

“How’s it going in here?” she asked them both. Nancy did her best to give a genuine and polite smile.

“Fine, I’m feeling much better,” she assured her quickly. Nurse Frances directed her attention to Steve, who shrugged.

“Couldn’t be better,” he replied, and Nancy had to duck her head to hide her smile.


End file.
